European Commission attempts to "criminalise" seafarers will do nothing to prevent maritime pollution, an international meeting of ships masters has been told in Dublin.
Capt Fred van Wijnen, president of the Confederation of European Ships Masters Association (CESMA), said ships masters must not be used as "scapegoats" in serious incidents, such as the Erika pollution incident of 1997.
Addressing a CESMA meeting in Dublin at the weekend, Capt van Wijnen urged the EU to serve as a "catalyst" for more effective anti-pollution legislation than that produced by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Discharge of oil-contaminated residues and waste from ships in many ports in the EU was "still a costly or impossible affair" for ship owners and port authorities.
Criticising the "knee-jerk" arrest of the Erika captain after the ship's foundering off the French coast, Capt van Wijnen said the existing IMO convention was an imperfect compromise.
A "strict and practical" code of pollution prevention, underpinned by resources and implementation of legislation which guaranteed the safety of captain and crew, could be part of a far more effective approach than simple arrest of a captain without trial.
He said CESMA had already asked the EU transport commissioner and the European Parliament to provide fair treatment for seafarers who cause unintentional pollution.
"Seafarers are, after all, human beings, and human beings should be allowed to make mistakes while at work like anybody else," he told CESMA members at the Dublin meeting, which was hosted by the Irish Institute of Master Mariners.
Single-hull oil tankers which sail within 200 miles of the Irish west coast will have to report to the Irish Coast Guard under a new initiative which will come into effect on July 1st, Minister of State for the Marine Pat the Cope Gallagher has said.
Irish waters will form part of a European designated sea area, known as a particularly sensitive sea area (PSSA), which was proposed by six EU member-states and approved by the IMO.
